DALLAS – An NFL official declined to absolve Jerry Jones and Cowboys Stadium of blame for the seating flap that resulted in 400 fans missing Super Bowl XLV on Sunday.

“All the parties were working together, and when parties are working together and something goes wrong, everybody has a responsibility,” said Eric Grubman, the league’s executive vice president of business ventures. “We will figure out what the key steps were, which ones were ours, which ones were someone else’s and we will address that.”

The 400 fans were displaced after replacement seats inside Cowboys Stadium were deemed unsafe by Arlington police and fire officials.

A spokesman for the Cowboys said the club would issue a statement later in the day.

Speaking at a news conference, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell termed the problems with hundreds of seats inside Cowboys Stadium was “obviously a failure on our behalf.” He added that the league would take responsibility.

But Grubman later contradicted Goodell when he said others involved with putting on the Super Bowl would also come under scrutiny.

Goodell added that “there’s no excuses” for fans having to give up their seats because of structural issues with temporary seating.

“The one thing we will never do is compromise safety,” Goodell said.

An NFL spokesman said the fans that missed the game were allowed onto the field after it ended. Brian McCarthy also told the Associated Press that the fans also received free merchandise, concessions, $2,400, which is three times the value of their $800 seats, and the promise of complimentary tickets to next year’s Super Bowl.

Grubman said the final problem with the seats stemmed from the fact that the final installation of railings, risers and steps was never completed.

Despite the seating flap and the winter storm that marred the week leading up to the game, Goodell said he thought the North Texas organizing committee “did an outstanding job.” Asked if he thought Cowboys Stadium would land future Super Bowls, Goodell said, “It’s a membership vote, but I think they did an outstanding job. It was a great event. I’m sure they will be seeking another Super Bowl and I’m sure the ownership will look at that very seriously.”

Tom Orsborn

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